Maureen Bartone
Author
About Maureen:
I am the author of three middle grade chapter books:
Life in the Gumball Machine; its sequel, Life in the Gumball Machine, Vinnie and Gordy’s Return; and Tilly’s Top-Secret Trapdoor.
My fourth book is not for kids. It’s an adult fiction thriller – a story of crime, love, and revenge set in my hometown of St. Paul, Minnesota. I hope to have it released soon!
Why I love to write:
I see a potential character in every face. I hear the joy or pain in their voice. Sometimes, I create, if only for a moment, a story from the actions, movements, posture, and expressions of others. They speak to me and take me to places deep into my imagination. Reading a great story is a gift, and I am committed to spread the word to parents and their children about the wonders, the magic, and the importance of reading.
I am a writer and lover of all the arts. As a child, my sisters and I pretended to be singers in a band as we listened to our parents’ eclectic LP collection. I started piano lessons at the age of ten, and from that point, the arts, and specifically music, defined my identity and my passion. Through high school and college, I perfected my classical piano skills and sang with the University of Minnesota’s symphonic choir.
My writing started out slowly, with letters of sympathy to loved ones, and song lyrics and poetry written to no one other than myself. The musicality of the written word is what first drew me to my passion for writing. Like a song, the words, sentences, and paragraphs move and flow, creating a theme which sets a tone, whether of love and happiness or danger and fear. And with that tone, in my mind and in my heart, the music is always with me.
Maureen Bartone
Editor
I pride myself in providing excellent content drafting and editing services for writers from every industry.
The types of documents I typically work on include, manuscripts, website/blog and other online content, resumes, business plans, technical and other professional documents.
My editing services include everything from basic copy editing, to resume setups and drafting, as well as fiction and non-fiction drafting, editing, and formatting. I am a Microsoft Word power-user and I am confident that I can take the content written by you and polish it to the professional standards today’s industries expect.
Projects are coordinated entirely online. I can assist with any stage of the writing process and will ensure the project is polished and effective.
There are three main types of editing:
Content Editing: This work focuses on the big picture of your document, including its structure, organization, plot points, cohesiveness and consistency. Content editing requires some of the most intensive type of editing and has the potential to require more work. At this level, there may be extensive additions to the document, or large amounts of re-writing. It can also include some levels of content creation as well as error, grammar, and spelling corrections.
Copy Editing: This work involves the enhancement of style, formatting, and accuracy. I will search for inconsistencies, and make sure there is a fluidity to your document. In addition, I will also look out for errors, grammar issues, and spelling corrections. Depending on your document, there could be various levels of copy editing including a simple double-checking for accuracy and grammar, to correcting flow and re-working your text. At the heavier end of copy editing, there might be some restructuring needed at the paragraph or sentence levels, as well as style improvement, flow, error, grammar and spelling corrections.
Line Editing falls in with copy editing and that includes line editing focuses on paragraph structure, flow, word choice, voice and readability, as well as grammar and spelling corrections.
Proofreading: This is the easiest type of editing and involves simple cosmetic work. This is the last step in the writing/editing process. The content at this point in your writing should be near complete and no re-writing of text or content happens at this point. This is the final review of your document to catch any small typos and errors.
